Hello Mamas!
I am entering new territory here and have no clue what to do! Our 16 month old has recently beginning hitting when she doesn't get her way. I watch a little 12 month old twice a week and today my daughter hit him when he was playing with a toy she wanted. I held her hands and told her "We do not hit in this house" and she smiles really big and then hits me. I tried a short time out (barely a minute)and then she said sorry and gave him a hug. About 5 minutes later we went through the whole thing again.
She is also beginning to throw tantrums and cry when she does not get her way. How do you handle these things at such a young age?
Any recommendations, advice, words of wisdom?
Thanks in advance!
-M.
You need to get a book called "To train up a child" you wouldn't believe the difference in my kids from before to after. It was short of a miracle
It sounds like you did just the right thing to me. I learned that if you get right down on their level and look right at them when you speak to them, it helps a lot to get their attention. But when it comes to hitting, biting etc just be prepared to be consistent and it will pass. I think it is a stage most kids go through, mine did at that age, man he was a hitter! Now at two years old I can just look at him when he looks like he is thinking of hitting and he will stop. So whatever method of discipline you use, just be consistent and hang in there. It seems like it will last forever but they really do want to please you and if a certain action always gets them into trouble, they do stop...eventually;) Good luck!!
I know it seems like your daughter is just not getting it but if you keep doing what you're doing and staying serious and consistant about it she will eventually come around! Try a time out that is just a little longer. I know when my son went through that tantrum stage we felt like we had tried everything!! But eventually ignoring the behavior started to work unless the tantrunm carried on then we spoke to him in a low but stern voice that tantrums were unacceptable and he must need a time out. Eventually just the mere mention of time out stopped most tantrums!! Good luck an stay strong! :)
I think you handled the hitting incident perfectly. Now, just be consistent EVERY time she does it (with the timeout) and it should subside. As for the tantrums, I would ignore them as much as possible. If she doesn't have an audience, she is more likely to stop. Just don't give in and walk away when she starts the tantrum (as long as you know she can't hurt herself). When she isn't getting what she wants from it or any added attention, she will soon realize it isn't getting her anywhere.
One thing that helped with mine was to teach them some sign language so that they were able to communicate some wants/needs before they were verbal. Things like eat, drink, milk and more (along with please) go a long way to reducing some of these kinds of tantrums that are thrown in frustration from not being able to communicate. Doesn't stop them altogether, but every little bit helps. Good luck! You're doing a great job...just remember that consistency is the key. If they get away with this behavior, even some of the time, they catch on to that pretty quickly!
